


Ethereal

by Star (docfics)



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Background Thunderwarp, Hate to Love, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 09:26:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18192770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/docfics/pseuds/Star
Summary: A small series depicting my take on Megatron and Starscream’s IDW1 relationship.I’ve been wanting to write these two for a while and I’m really excited to create this...I hope you enjoy. ❤️





	Ethereal

Megatron had known that when Starscream had first bowed—down on one knee with a stutter in his voice—that he wasn't used to it. Even though he spoke with a tremble in his voice, there was something...unusual about it all. But these were good fliers, and they would be useful to the cause. So he pushed these thoughts aside, and quirked his lips in a welcoming gesture.

 

***

 

Soon after, Megatron saw how Starscream truly carried himself. He walked with a precision to his step that reflected the most dangerous concoction of a prince and a pauper, someone who knew how the high caste acted, talked—wanted to do the same—but also had the bright, cunning optics of a mech that had clawed their way out of the mold and knew what it was like to start from the very bottom.

 

But they were still different. A manufactured mold held different experiences than a mech that had dwelled in the mines below. Starscream soon revealed to be eager to follow in the carnage of Megatron’s gladiatorial footsteps—and his disappointment shown through when his first assignments were simple raids for supplies. Megatron felt it again—that danger lurking beneath Starscream’s pristine frame—and wondered what it meant.

 

Starscream's trine reflected none of his personality. Megatron couldn't fathom what brought them together—Thundercracker constantly had a pinched expression and Skywarp was full of boisterous humor and a true passion for the war. They followed Starscream without missing a stride all while bickering and screaming and sometimes—clawing at him. Megatron knew enough about seekers to recognize normal trine dynamics—and these weren’t it. There was something dangerous in the way Starscream led, something that constantly kept Thundercracker and Skywarp in a state of tension.

 

And as Megatron watched Starscream push Skywarp away with a perfectly painted blue servo, he realized that Starscream should _never_ be in a position of power if he was to remain like this. Perhaps that is why he joined the Decepticons...perhaps he wished to hone the confidence he had, fine tune it. Perhaps he and the seeker would work together, side by side, and demolish them all in one fell sweep...

 

He realized he had been staring, and the trine was staring back. Skywarp with wide red eyes, a hopeful smile, Thundercracker looking to the side—and Starscream narrowing his optics to wicked slits, mouth twitching into the ghost of a sneer. His nose went up, and Megatron heard a soft _hmph—_ and then he turned without another word, and without fail, his trine mimicked the movement, slipping easily into their positions by his side.

 

Megatron had to force himself to ignore the strange urge to follow them.

 

***

 

In the beginning, Starscream was like a ghost. Constantly flitting about the corner of Megatron’s vision, skulking in the darkness, and whispering to his trine just low enough that Megatron’s audials couldn’t pick up what they were saying. To say it was irritating would be an understatement—and Megatron decided it was time to put Starscream’s skills to further use. He had seen his interactions with other mechs—his quick and smooth tongue, the flourish of his gestures—natural behavior that had only been amplified by his time as a senator, no doubt. And Megatron decided then he knew what Starscream would excel at.

 

When summoned, Starscream appeared before him looking bored—and with no trace of the respect he had shown at their first meeting, examined his glistening claws with a bored sigh. “Another supply raid, I assume? You know—“ He began, before Megatron cut him off.

 

“No. It’s time for our cause to progress, Starscream. We have weaponry and energon. And now, we need fresh faces to continue on with our plans. And I believe you can easily convince the masses to see our side.”

 

Starscream’s body language changed rapidly as Megatron spoke—wings perking up, eyes widening and grimace turning into a wicked little smile. To see him so animated—well. Megatron couldn’t quite place the flash of heat that warmed his internals. He shifted his face, hiding the ghost of a smile that had wormed its way onto his face. Starscream didn’t seem to notice—he was too busy looking pleased, standing up straighter and letting his grin widen.

 

“I’m pleased to hear that you’ve finally found a good use of my many skills, Megatron. I have great faith in my abilities, and I imagine our ranks could soon double—mm, dare I say, triple—in the next deca-cycle. Perhaps sooner.”

 

And the way Starscream’s wings fluttered, the piercing delight in his optics—it was a trap. Megatron always took pride in being in control of his words, thinking them through—but his glossa now felt far too loose, and he let his next words spill without any thought at all.

 

“They’d be fools not to listen to you, Starscream.”

 

And as Starscream’s eyes widened with surprise, only to narrow back into those deadly slits—that was when Megatron knew that somehow, someway, a trap had been laid and he had stupidly put a pede right into it.

 

Starscream _trilled_ softly, and his wings hiked far above his helm with an aura of smugness that had Megatron’s fuel pump racing. He was just about to order Starscream out, let Soundwave handle the rest—when the blasted seeker took a step forward, tilting his face up to lock optics with the gladiator.

 

“Anyone would be a fool not to listen to me, _Lord Megatron._ ”

 

Megatron stared down at him, and before he could even finish growling “Dismissed—“ Starscream had turned and flounced out of the room, a final flick of high stretched wings the last thing Megatron saw before the seeker was gone.

Megatron sat in the room in silence, a small sense of dread—and that blasted heat—brewing in his tanks, and pinched his forehead with a loud exhale. Whatever had just happened—whatever game Starscream was playing—

 

He wouldn’t let it happen again.

**Author's Note:**

> (Big thanks to my pal Rats for proofreading this <3)


End file.
